McCain’s $300 Million Prize …and Other Matters from His Santa Barbara Energy Speech
EmailLater today at Fresno State University in Santa Barbara, Calif., Sen. John McCain will discuss how "energy security is the great national challenge of our time." Among other ideas, he’ll propose inspiring "the ingenuity and resolve of the American people by offering a $300 million prize for the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars." Pooh-poohing proposals to take on OPEC directly," McCain will say, "some in Washington seem to think that we can still persuade OPEC to lower prices – as if reason or cajolery had never been tried before," he’ll say. "Others have even suggested suing OPEC – as if we can litigate our way to energy security. But America is not going to meet this great challenge as a supplicant or a plaintiff. We are not going to meet it with words at all – we are going to meet it with action. We’re going to produce more, conserve more, and invent more." With that, McCain will propose leveling "the playing field for all alcohol fuels that break the monopoly of gasoline" and issue a "Clean Car Challenge" — a $5,000 tax credit for each and every customer who buys a zero-emission vehicle. Democrats are focusing on McCain’s reversal last week on off shore drilling, pointing out the irony of McCain’s presence in Santa Barbara given that flip flop and given the fact that the creator of Earth Day, former Sen. Gaylord Nelson, D-Wisc., came up with the idea after seeing the results of an off-shore-drilling disaster while in Santa Barbara. In 1969, Nelson came up with Earth Day after seeing the results of an oil spill at a Unocal platform off the city’s coast. (Links from the Democrats about this 39-year-old spill: HERE and HERE.) – jpt
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Clever. At least it is a suggestion that can be implemented, relies on our ingenuity rather than begging foreign nationals for help, and gives anyone a shot at the money. Contrast that to the suggestions we create a Manhattan Project with no details and the money likely to be distributed as political rewards for campaign support.
McCain is supporting American ingenuity and competition. Good move.
Posted by: len | June 23, 2008, 10:49 am 10:49 am
It’s a good thought, hopefully the battery will be made in the U.S.
On the other hand, I thought nuclear proliferation is the biggest threat to to the U.S.
Posted by: 1percenter | June 23, 2008, 11:05 am 11:05 am
len – Actually it is begging foreign nationals to help. I am an engineer and most of the students in graduate school are foreign nationals. This is because American born students don’t choose the science and engineering paths very often any more. It is tough, and you are better compensated in areas like business, law and medicine. Plus most Americans are academically challenged after years of celebrity worship and the like.
Posted by: Ben Straub | June 23, 2008, 11:06 am 11:06 am
Good move McCain, now where is this 300 million dollars coming from??
Also, why don’t you fight to close the Exon loophole?
Posted by: becky | June 23, 2008, 11:08 am 11:08 am
OOps, sorry, let me correct myself.
ENRON LOOPHOLE! I suggest starting there. Oh what, that is the Republicans bank account. Sorry!
Posted by: becky | June 23, 2008, 11:12 am 11:12 am
Why does the media never ask John McCain how he is going to pay for all of his brilliant ideas? They always ask Senator Obama . . . like the Iraq war for example – how are we gonna pay for that? Anybody gonna ask?
Posted by: Nobodys fool | June 23, 2008, 11:16 am 11:16 am
OOps, sorry, let me correct myself.
ENRON LOOPHOLE! I suggest starting there. Oh what, that is the Republicans bank account. Sorry!
Posted by: becky | Jun 23, 2008 11:12:21 AM
******
That wont happen, since Phil Gramm, McCains Economic Advisor is the one who introduced the Bill that allowed the “Enron Loophole” and Gramm’s wife was on the Board of Directors of Enron at the time. Gramm made millions from Enron.
Posted by: Vero Possumus | June 23, 2008, 11:17 am 11:17 am
Hey Ben:
My son is studying engineering too. I don’t dispute the problems we are having with higher education.
OTOH…
The president of University of Houston was on TV last night saying that solving American problems required America get back to core values of higher education and competitiveness. She wrote the book on the Post-American Century. Very sharp individual but quite concerned about maintaining her own culture and expressing that by writing fiction in Hindi only.
Foreign nationals like to tell us our best days are over but they are still working here and aren’t all that thrilled about going home with their American-acquired educations. Why?
As to money made, she was the first to say the effort goes where the profits are found and if the profits are found in business, that is where the smart students go. If engineering is becoming a trade-school occupation, expect the engineers to be middle class occupiers. On the other hand, Zuckerberg did very well. Brin is doing very well.
I tell my son to balance his engineering courses with business courses, English lit and History. Those are unbeatable in the working world.
Posted by: len | June 23, 2008, 11:21 am 11:21 am
@becky:
“Good move McCain, now where is this 300 million dollars coming from??”
That’s a dollar a piece from American consumers. Imagine the results if you take that measly donation you sent to Obama’s campaign and sent it to this contest. We can talk ‘hope’ for ‘change’ or we can ‘drive’ to ‘work’.
The point is it is a positive idea based on a competitive idea market instead of a ‘wait and do with less while innovation magically appears’ speech.
These things work very well because there is a guaranteed payoff. Of course, the devil is in the details. What are the actual conditions for winning? IOW, a 300 mile at 80 mp battery? 600 at 60?
Posted by: len | June 23, 2008, 11:26 am 11:26 am
That’s all fine and dandy to receive a tax break of 5K for a zero-emissions vehicle, but none exist in this country. It would well take beyond a four year term for the hydrogen fueled car to be affordable and for its fuel to be commercially available.
Posted by: kat | June 23, 2008, 11:29 am 11:29 am
oh how silly
all we have to do is vote for mr hopey changey and his new seal and all this will magically occur without spending the money or any work…
geesh
Posted by: al | June 23, 2008, 11:34 am 11:34 am
len – Good to hear your son is pursuing engineering. I am an antenna designer at a national lab, and we cannot get qualified applicants that can get a security clearance to do these jobs anymore. The average age here is 50 years of age. There are variety of reasons for this, but it is mainly due to the fact that America does not produce many American-citizen engineers anymore. As far as why foreign nationals stay: America still provides the best political system in which to operate. This keeps them here along with available opportunities. However, as their native economies improve, the incentives to stay will be less and less. America really needs to get its priorities straight.
Posted by: Ben Straub | June 23, 2008, 11:34 am 11:34 am
I agree, Ben. I’m a VP of R&D and finding qualified software engineers when the university is just over the hill is tough. One problem is the bifurcation in commercial and open source systems. There is a bit too much political religion in software. Another is salary expectations. Too much too fast.
Interestingly, the U of Houston president said the parliamentary system was an advantage in India and is the dominant form of government. She contrasted it to the US separation of powers approach and found our system lacking. Yet she remains in Houston. Why? America’s quality of life is just that much better was her reply.
Posted by: len | June 23, 2008, 11:45 am 11:45 am
“Produce more, conserve more, invent more” sounds like the perfect balance to me. McCain is spot on. With gas at $4.00+ a gallon and China drilling 60 miles off Florida’s coast, it’s silly not to expand our drilling. We’ve got less chance of causing an oil spill than China does. If we drill and create alternatives at the same time, we could not only become self-sufficent, but could probably either sell oil to China and India or export our fuel alternatives in some way, shape or form in the future.
Posted by: HoosierSue | June 23, 2008, 11:52 am 11:52 am
kat, what possible difference does it make that this is a project that extends beyond a 4-year presidential term? Would you rather we continue to sit back and do nothing while gas climbs to $8 or $10 a gallon and say, “Well, we could have pursued hydrogen or other alternatives, but it would have taken too long”? I know that’s fine with Obama, but I much prefer McCain’s balanced approach.
Posted by: HoosierSue | June 23, 2008, 11:58 am 11:58 am
suprise suprise another pander from camp mccain
i propose that we give 600 billion dollars to the person who can make a fuel from say old french fries!
Posted by: bhrandon | June 23, 2008, 11:59 am 11:59 am
len – Interesting comments. I must agree with many. Parliamentary system is an advantage? Maybe if there isn’t much regulation on a business to innovate new things. I think the basic problem with Americans pursuing engineering, and in particular advanced degrees, has a lot to do with what people value. When most young adults know more about Britney Spears than algebra, we have a problem. There are so many problems, and it doesn’t help that the collective political class has no interest in America’s welfare. John McCain may be trying to present something palatable since his warmongering is being rejected by the majority of Americans.
Posted by: Ben Straub | June 23, 2008, 11:59 am 11:59 am
I like the idea in theory, but then we come to the matter of funding the proposal. McCain won’t increase taxes the “rich”, so he is going to increase taxes on the “not-rich” to pay for it. And knowing McCain, he’ll probably fix it so an American company can’t win and the money will go to China or France.
At $4 a gallon of gas, the market is already enticing companies to pursue alternatives. Nissan and GM are both going plug-in hybrid, probably every other manufacturer is too. It’s not a long term prospect, we’ll see these cars in the short term. 300 mil won’t make it go any faster, increasing the gas tax would. :)
Posted by: Republican supporting Obama 08 | June 23, 2008, 12:03 pm 12:03 pm
Republican supporting Obama 08 – You are correct in noting that the market is already correcting for things. That sounds more Ron Paulian than Obama. When it hits Americans in the pocket book is when stuff starts to happen.
Posted by: Ben Straub | June 23, 2008, 12:09 pm 12:09 pm
Fresno State University in Santa Barbara??? There’s UCSB and there’s Fresno State-hey, only a 200 mile difference-there is no Fresno State University in Santa Barbara. Is the rest of this article as screwed up as the opening paragraph??
Posted by: Tom | June 23, 2008, 12:10 pm 12:10 pm
This tax break was tried 15 years ago in Arizona (wonder where McCain got the idea), and it failed.
People were licensing their golf carts to get the tax break. You’d see golf carts driving down the street, going to the local grocery store.
Posted by: Scott | June 23, 2008, 12:12 pm 12:12 pm
Without a price cap say $25k or $30k, the clean car challenge will benefit those few who can afford a $50,000 zero emission car. I assume tailpipe emissions is what he talking about but remember to generate that electricity or hydrogen some real pollution generating power is needed to create the electricity or hydrogen.
Posted by: Mr. Coffee | June 23, 2008, 12:14 pm 12:14 pm
Do you think my grandchildren will be talking about this in 30 years like my faters are????? The Vega,Pinto,Yugo,etc
popular after gas lines and gas going from 17cents to 79cents and miles of long gas lines gas every other day and then only ten gallons.Fourty years and no answers not drilling on the leased land they have capping off all oil wells in the 1970′s in this country and dismantleing 30 refineries who to believe. The 1%ers have lied since the begining of time nothing changes.
Posted by: Bishop | June 23, 2008, 12:14 pm 12:14 pm
I’m confused–How does this battery help? Will it lower gas consumption in my car? Or is this battery meant for a new type of car that will already use less gas? Wouldn’t it be better for our planet to keep our car (vs. throwing it away & buying new) and retrofit it to use much less gas?
Posted by: Leyda | June 23, 2008, 12:17 pm 12:17 pm
@ben: keep in mind the $300 mil is a prize for creating a super-battery. It isn’t to produce a car. It targets the weak spot in electric and hybrids which is storage. A super-battery would also work in other technologies. Targeting a specific problem and opening it to competitive solutions gets around one of the major conspiracy theorists issues with vested interests rigging markets. The idea is transparent, the goal is transparent and the conditions for winning are transparent. Does it favor research groups? Yes. Does it penalize the lone hacker? No. It’s Darwinian in the sense that the best idea wins. Isn’t that what the Silly Valley people keep telling us is the best way to innovate?
No Product. No Market. No Sale. No Pay.
The UofH prez said the advantage of parliamentary systems was reduced bureaucracy and multiple parties. Somehow the results in India don’t confirm that on the surface. Someone with better chops can explain it to me.
As to American pop culture, yes it’s true. On the other hand,a generation was told Elvis was the work of the devil and they still managed Apollo. As the engineers on that program said, the will to do is the critical requirement. If the pop culture robs them of the will to do, it is a problem. I’m not sure that is exactly where the bigger issues are. Consider that Obama IS largely a pop culture phenomenon as he has no accomplishments. Obamamania creeps me out just as Beatlemania creeped out my parents.
I think Americans have been floating on debt too long and that masks the problems. We are running an economic engine filled with high viscosity oil so fatigue isn’t as noticeable.
The other proposal from McCain to begin incentivizing research parks OUTSIDE OF THE VALLEY is the right one. The focus on San Francisco and North Carolina has gone on too long. We do need to look at for example, Pittsburgh, and use procurements to accelerate that emergence.
Posted by: len | June 23, 2008, 12:20 pm 12:20 pm
Ben Straub – that’s probably because I’d like to be supporting Dr. Paul as the GOP candidate. When the GOP made fun of him for suggesting conservative ideals, I realized the fallacy of supporting any Republican nominee. One of the “two” parties has to collapse, so that a real alternative can emerge.
Posted by: Republican supporting Obama 08 | June 23, 2008, 12:21 pm 12:21 pm
The only vehicles with zero emissions are either hydrogen fueled or totally electric. I think it’s putting the cart before the horse, or the car without access to fuel or recharging, to be advocating a tax break for users. This is a consumer and infrastructure issue that can’t be practically implemented for quite some time.
Posted by: Kat | June 23, 2008, 12:28 pm 12:28 pm
YEA MCCAIN THROW THE BALL BACK IN THE COURT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO COME UP WITH A NEW ELECTRIC BATTERY,BETTER THAN THE ONE WE HAVE NOW, TURN IT IN A COMPETITION. I GUESS WE WILL SEE RESULTS ABOUT 2030 LIKE THE RESULTS OF DRILLING FOR OIL,ANY THING NOT TO EXPOSE THE REAL CROOKS LIKE YOU AND BUSH’S OIL BUDDIES.
Posted by: Republicans are Tarnished | June 23, 2008, 12:29 pm 12:29 pm
@mr coffee: “to generate that electricity or hydrogen some real pollution generating power is needed to create the electricity or hydrogen.”
Precisely. It isn’t a Manhattan Project that is needed. Targeted innovation is necessary, yes, for example, storage systems. But we will have to look at all aspects of consumption balanced against cost and the environment. A better approach will be a national program that uses different sources of energy to bootstrap the energy ecosystem. For example, the use of local solar and wind to power hydrogen generation to power bio-conversion systems and so on.
The trick is systems engineering. We have to think in terms of safe chains of suppliers that amplify production at each stage of the chain.
But let’s look at the Big Project Game. Saturn Vs flew the first time and every time. Why?
1. Practiced team. The Germans had been together for over two decades and understood how to scale their designs.
2. Systems engineering of components by different teams with very high test requirements.
3. We put the money to the specific goals and stayed the course through three administrations. Consistency is everything.
To Ben’s point: this where liberal educations fail Americans. The rewriting of history in the Discovery Channel program robbing the Germans of credit for the success of Apollo is precisely how we fail to learn the lessons of history by changing it for political convenience. It’s criminal to do that.
Posted by: len | June 23, 2008, 12:31 pm 12:31 pm
len – I don’t dispute what you are saying. As a matter of fact, you and I would probably agree on most things related to this topic. I have believed for quite some time that we should have greater energy independence. I believe the market will take us there eventually, but if a politician presents an idea that makes sense then that is a positive thing. Energy independence will also help on the terrorism problem. I am also a strong believer in conservation. I believe our wastfulness is part of the problem. I must admit that Obama also creeps me out too with the overt welfarism. McCain on the other hand worries me with his reckless belligerence towards other nations that may have different approaches than our own. I am a Ron Paul supporter who believes if we combine a sensible foreign policy with personally responsibility, we will be getting somewhere.
Posted by: Ben Straub | June 23, 2008, 12:31 pm 12:31 pm
Republican supporting Obama 08 – No argument here. I will either write Paul in or go with a 3rd party candidate. The greatest thing that could happen would be for both the republicans and democrats to sit on the sidelines for 4 years.
Posted by: Ben Straub | June 23, 2008, 12:34 pm 12:34 pm
Vero Possumus
Where do you get your information?
“You do realize that any oil obtained from off-shore drilling wont be commericially available until 2030?” Your FLAT WRONG. On any rig the oil will be available 2 years after we start drilling. Not 22 years. Did it take that long in AK? NO. Even if it took 5 years, then we are that much further ahead. We will need oil for the next 100 years so we need to start looking and drilling now for it.
And BTW. Why is it ok for the middle east to drill and not us? That impacts the world too. Also why is it that we cannot put up more wind mills, or wave generators or Nuck plants? What can we do?
Posted by: Marty | June 23, 2008, 12:37 pm 12:37 pm
len – Exactly, my dad was one of those germans directly involved in the Apollo program. I am not sure how that related to what I was saying, but hopefully it was in agreement.
Posted by: Ben Straub | June 23, 2008, 12:40 pm 12:40 pm
We agree then, Ben. My candidate is out of the race so I’m trying to make the best of bad choices. Meanwhile, we have work to do.
Bellicose policy has a way of making a nation look weak. Teddy Roosevelt had it right, but I am tired of being the world’s policeman. It drains our resources while our enemies gain strength. See Sun Tzu for strategy on making the adversary leave their camp. Isolationism is just as bad but only if the adversary is in the pass when we have the high ground.
Posted by: len | June 23, 2008, 12:42 pm 12:42 pm
@ben: We may be neighbors. ;-)
My point was that education can’t be the handmaiden of corrupt politics. We have to gaze clear eyed at our mistakes and our successes knowledgeable of the strong and weak relationships. For that, we need all the facts not just the convenient ones.
Posted by: len | June 23, 2008, 12:45 pm 12:45 pm
len – Right on. You are one of the most intelligent posters I have tangled with. I pray whoever wins the presidency, they do a good job for all our benefit. By the way I am from Houston. Hot and humid. I grew up right aound the corner from JSC. It is amazing what those engineers did when they put their minds to it.
Posted by: Ben Straub | June 23, 2008, 12:49 pm 12:49 pm
Jake, I think a little lesson in geography is due ….
Freson State University is not in Santa Barbara, CA. It is in FRESNO, CA – close to 4hours away from Santa Barbara and a whole world away.
Posted by: Weini | June 23, 2008, 12:49 pm 12:49 pm
Thanks Ben. I’m just well-read with a bad streak of low boredom threshold syndrome and fast fingers. Stay at what you are after. You are on the right track.
Huntsville here. I was born a half mile from the Old Timers. They did incredible work but they and the rest of the team always said it was about people making the decision and throwing their best effort at it.
America has problems. We will solve them. And we will endure. We will. But we have to remember that being good made us great and as said, when we are not good we will no longer be great. (deTocqueville?)
Meanwhile, the entertainment value of the political seasons is wearing thin. We do need to get down to solutions that make sense to those who have to do the work.
Posted by: len | June 23, 2008, 12:55 pm 12:55 pm
“Democrats are focusing on McCain’s reversal last week on off shore drilling, pointing out the irony of McCain’s presence in Santa Barbara given that flip flop”
What McCain does is entirely irrelevant. The Obamessiah is the one who is supposed to be different and new. Moral relativism doesn’t cut it for the Messiah.
Posted by: drjohn | June 23, 2008, 12:55 pm 12:55 pm
Shale is tomorrow, kids.
And heck- didn’t the Saudis drill their way out of dependency?
Why not us?
Posted by: drjohn | June 23, 2008, 12:57 pm 12:57 pm
len – You bet. I am unfortunately not so well read unless you lump technical journals into the mix. You grew up near MSFC. I had to give a talk at Redstone. Nice green place. I am out in the high desert of New Mexico now, nice and brown. Well getter get back to some design work. Good talking with you.
Posted by: Ben Straub | June 23, 2008, 1:02 pm 1:02 pm
This is a great idea. Obama is nothing but a critic that does nothing but criticizes. Who is he going to blame next. His staff probably have tape over their bung hole so Obama does not do them next
Posted by: sar jack | June 23, 2008, 1:05 pm 1:05 pm
Obama is going to offer 350 million and claim it as his idea. And then the news media will faint over Obama again
Posted by: lenny | June 23, 2008, 1:07 pm 1:07 pm
McCain’s right — We can technology our way out of this. But we have to keep at it.
Back in the Jimmy Carter days of oil at the astronomical price of $20 per barrel, we instituted incentives for energy saving like solar homes and better cars. Folks started up businesses, innovated ways of getting the green, low energy profile and then lost everything when the feds decided that stuff was too expensive and anyway, the gas lines went away and they kept their jobs in Congress.
Or we could wait until the Chinese, the Indians or the East Muldavians come up with a solution and take more of our money than the jerks in the Middle East do.
In business we have a saying, “If you are serious, act like you are serious”. We are far from serious — Those we have elected to watch out for us have absolutely no interest in anything but getting their party into a majority.
Posted by: Tom Mariner | June 23, 2008, 1:07 pm 1:07 pm
McCain is coming up with Solutions, that is great, Someone should tell the Marxists Obama and the rest of the dem party that criticizing solutions is not creating solutions.
I want to take this time and thank Obama and the rest of his Marxist Group in Congress for paying higher Fuel and Food costs, I always wanted to do that.
NOT!!!!
Posted by: spock | June 23, 2008, 1:09 pm 1:09 pm
Oil is big money. Until something can make money like oil we will depend on it until it runs dry. We are all pawns to the OIL MAN.
We may never find a replacement for oil and go back to the simple life of having a horse instead of a car
Posted by: Oil boy | June 23, 2008, 1:10 pm 1:10 pm
If the dems want to go back 30 years , well then we do not want another Carter in the form of Obama !!
Posted by: spock | June 23, 2008, 1:11 pm 1:11 pm
Len and Ben Straub: Just read your postings. You guys are right on. Good to hear disgruntled republicans at it.
Ben: Wish Paul had a chance.
Posted by: Huh | June 23, 2008, 1:11 pm 1:11 pm
Obama thinks that if you tax the oil profits it will lower the cost of OIL> The OIL companies will just pass the cost of the tax to the consumer. THE WHOLE WORLD IS PAYING MUCH MORE FOR OIL not just United States. WOrld Wide Demand has skyrocketed and supply is getting short.
Posted by: boos | June 23, 2008, 1:12 pm 1:12 pm
700 million from leftover Vegatable Oil. Please, MCCAIN is so CLUELESS – BOB BARR – 08
Posted by: latinovoter1 | June 23, 2008, 1:17 pm 1:17 pm
Obama also thinks if you over tax the companies that employee the workers that it will create more work in this country. Only a Democrat would believe that LOGIC. The fact is more companies would leave the country to a tax free country.
Posted by: boos | June 23, 2008, 1:18 pm 1:18 pm
Fresno State University is in Fresno, California, not in Santa Barbara!!!!!
You’re a reporter, right?
Posted by: centralcal | June 23, 2008, 1:31 pm 1:31 pm
If this battery is all it is cracked up to be a good republican would realize that the market will provide the earned prize.
Next will be a 99 cent per gallon gas lottery
Posted by: smith | June 23, 2008, 1:37 pm 1:37 pm
This technology exists and is being developed in Texas by Eestor and will be available through Zenn Motor co. in 2009 and will be available to all car companies after that.
Posted by: Rich | June 23, 2008, 1:45 pm 1:45 pm
Mealer Companies has been living the McCain plan for years. We fially have funding to expand and fully fund our Green Auto (and more) company across America.
Thanks John!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JOHN McCAIN’S 3R ECONOMIC PLAN 2008
Abbreviated version
Progressive Candidate John McCain comes through for America with his 3R economic plan.
In the persona of Theodore Roosevelt, McCain’s plan just makes sense.
1. RETHINK: America must rethink the global views on what America is capable of in our current state of technology, engineering and the demands that face the world.
“RE-Think” the basic job goals involve the dwindling retirement, health care and social security plans that are failing Americans. With a strong base and a higher Gross Domestic Product (GDP) America has a new bargaining chip in the way we live and the ways we retire.
The framework is already in place through existing laws to make this happen. The Progressive attitude of John McCain to get things done by crossing party lines will resurrect America.
Posted by: JL Mealer | June 23, 2008, 1:58 pm 1:58 pm
Mr. McCain can write the check to EEStor or Zenn Motor Co. since the technology is being developed as we speak and will become commercially available in 2009.
ZENN Motor Targets Highway-Capable, EEStor-Powered Vehicle for 2009
29 March 2008
During its Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders, ZENN Motor Company Inc. (ZMC) said that it is targeting the launch of the cityZENN EV, powered by EEStor, for the fall of 2009. The cityZENN is planned to be a fully certified, highway capable vehicle with a top speed of 125 kph (80 mph) and a range or 400 kilometers (250 miles). The cityZENN is supposed to be rechargeable in less than 5 minutes.
EEStor is the developer of what it says is a new high-power-density ceramic ultracapacitor (the Energy Storage Unit—EESU). The EEStor ESU is projected to offer up to 10x the energy density (volumetric and gravimetric) of lead-acid batteries at the same cost. In addition, the ESU is projected to store up to 1.5 to 2.5 times the energy of Li-Ion batteries at 12 to 25% of the cost. (Earlier post.)
EEStor has publicly committed to commercialization in 2008 and their first production line will be used to supply ZENN Motor Company.
Posted by: John | June 23, 2008, 2:07 pm 2:07 pm
@huh: Thanks but I’ve been a Democrat all my life in a state where people who are democrats would be republicans anywhere else and republicans would be outlawed. IOW, the heart of conservatism. We call ourselves Free Range Democrats because all the good corn was kept by the other team.
Seriously, I was a Hillary supporter. With my horse out of the race, it’s better to be an independent and try to make the best of it which is to say hold on to the vote until I see a deal worth making. :-)
God, country, family, party in that order.
Posted by: len | June 23, 2008, 3:21 pm 3:21 pm
this prize is irrelevant. 10 years ago it would have been influential but now corporations are already investing hundreds of millions on a battery market perceived as being worth billions. they already cant invest fast enough so the prize wont change a thing.
once there is a technology winner (such as a123systems) they wont care much about $300 million after having to spend their own money on research and development. the true prize for them was a contract with GM on the Chevy Volt and after-market upgrades for the Prius.
if the govt wanted to actually help then they would spend the money up front on research to create the battery and tie the research contract to a guaranteed low price making it available to the people of this country (it is our money being offered, not McCain’s).
instead, this prize would reward any company already positioned for worldwide domination of the battery market. clearly they will not be in a position to need charity.
Posted by: g f | June 23, 2008, 4:47 pm 4:47 pm
What a great idea!
Our country HAS the “smarts”; Let’s encourage it’s creativity and
sourcefulness!
COUNTRY BEFORE PARTY!!!
Posted by: QUESTIONER | June 23, 2008, 5:14 pm 5:14 pm
Given that electric car battery leader A123 has already secured $250 Million in private funding, the $300 Million that McCain is proposing simply underscores how clueless he is in regards to both the magnitude of the problem and the opportunity provided by 100% electric cars powered by wind and solar. Given that the world cannot produce enough plant-matter to create enough cellulosic ethanol (even IF we knew how to make cellulosic ethanol!) to power today’s super-size me Pickup trucks and SUVs Obama demonstrates that he doesn’t get it either!
Posted by: Jim Adcock | June 26, 2008, 2:42 pm 2:42 pm